Tide too tough for Tigers
Published 8:59 pm Sunday, November 5, 2017
QB puts hurt on LSU on busted plays
<p class="p1">TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — If nothing else, LSU playing Alabama doesn’t look as hopeless as it once did for the Tigers. </p><p class="p1">Alabama knew they were here Saturday night.</p><p class="p1">For now, that will have do for LSU, which threw everything in its two rock star coordinators’ playbooks at the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide before losing 24-10. </p><p class="p1">The Tigers had to settle for covering the widest point spread (21.5 points) the long, traditionally hard-fought series had seen in 24 years.</p><p class="p1">No. 19 LSU (6-3, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) was saddled with its seventh consecutive loss in the series. Alabama stayed unbeaten at 9-0, 6-0.</p><p class="p1">The Tigers had their moments.</p><p class="p1">But Bama is still Bama — and the Tide and head coach Nick Saban’s famed Process was immune to the nutty craziness that infected a wide swath of the nation’s top 10 Saturday.</p><p class="p1">The Tigers never really threatened to join the upset parade, but hung around all night scheming and fighting and waiting for the one big game-changing play that might turn the Tide.</p><p class="p1">It never came.</p><p class="p1">It wasn’t for lack of trying.</p><p class="p1">LSU better than matched the Tide yard for yard — total offense: LSU 306, Alabama 299 — and even outrushed Bama by holding the Alabama machine to a mere 116 yards on the ground, 218 yards under its SEC-leading average.</p><p class="p1">The Tigers sacked Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts four times, but the waterbug quarterback also made most of the night’s biggest plays while throwing for Bama’s first touchdown and the running for the last one.</p><p class="p1">He threw for 183 yards and his 44 yards rushing — scrambling, mostly — was more than anything from the Tide’s deep stable of running backs.</p><p class="p1">Dave Aranda’s LSU defense held the Tide to a season low in yards.</p><p class="p1">Offensively, LSU’s Matt Canada tried it all, even adding the “wildcat” formation to their arsenal with running backs Darrell Phillips and Derrius Guice taking direct snaps.</p><p class="p1">Phillips got loose with one for 54 yards to set up his own 2-yard power dive that got LSU to within 21-10 early in the fourth quarter.</p><p class="p1">Alabama, which built on a 14-3 halftime lead when it took advantage of a third-quarter punting contest for enough field position to drive 56 yards and take a 21-3 lead on Hurts’ 3-yard run.</p><p class="p1">LSU answered with Phillips runs to cut it to 21-10, but a Hurts scramble kept alive an Bama drive for a 40-yard field goal.</p><p class="p1">LSU never really threatened again.</p><p class="p1">The Tigers had their chances in the first half, when they outgained the Tide (176-166) with more first downs (9-7).</p><p class="p1">LSU was 6-for-10 on third-down conversions while the Tide was but 2 of 6.</p><p class="p1">The difference for Bama’s 14-3 lead was Danny Etling’s ill-advised pass late in the first quarter –— one of his few mistakes, on the first play of a Tigers drive — that was intercepted by the Tide’s Ronnie Harrison at the LSU 37-yard line.</p><p class="p1">Alabama scored four plays later on Bo Scarborough’s 9-yard run for a 14-0 Tide lead.</p><p class="p1">The Tigers, on the other hand, had to settle for a field goal at the business end of an impressive 71-yard drive midway through the second quarter despite setting up first-and-goal from the 5 after DJ Chark’s acrobatic catch of an Etling pass.</p><p class="p1">Bama also scored on its second possession when Hurts 47-yard completion set up a 4-yard scoring pass to Irv Smith.</p>
